Following is a special statement from Minister Jordan Palmer, secretary-general of the Kentucky Equality Federation alliance, its member and dependant organizations:

Kentucky Equality Federation firmly supports Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ rights to freedom of conscience, faith, and speech. We believe these rights belong to all people regardless of any defining characteristic imposed on them by society or governments.

However, irrespective of how the Family Foundation of Kentucky chooses to spin the news report, the fact is, Davis is not in prison because of her beliefs. She is being held in contempt of court because she refuses to resolve the job taxpayers elected her to perform and has broken her oath of office. She could easily resign and end the entire situation, but I suspect the national spotlight is truly the motivation. The office of an elected official is a public trust, not a personal platform for refusing service to the “wrong” sort of people; this reeks of the oppression of far-off lands where officials can make discriminatory rules and enforce summary judgement against certain classes, genders, orientations, races, and castes.

We are all equal before the law, and we encourage Davis to do the right thing, embrace the standard of public service (as she swore an oath to do), and comply with Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Wingate’s ruling in Kentucky Equality Federation v. Commonwealth of Kentucky and the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.

This situation is analogous to Governor Steve Beshear refusing to aid a region of the Commonwealth during a disaster because they are Methodist, Catholic, or they voted for a different political party. It is similar to a clerk refusing to issue driver’s licenses to taxpayers of a certain gender because they don’t believe they are religiously permitted to drive. Would we tolerate a governor or president who refused to repel an invasion or defend the lives they have sworn to safeguard?

The end of discrimination is not simply the elimination of flagrant abuses, rather it is the ability of a person to fully exercise their Kentucky human rights to the same full extent enjoyed by their peers, without fear of retribution, aspersion, or harm, be that harm political or social. The religious beliefs of Davis remain intact however, and unharmed, but incompatible with the elected office she holds.

Marriage Equality Kentucky empowers and trains local supporters throughout the commonwealth to get engaged and step up into leadership roles in their communities in support of the marriage equality movement. One of our organizational goals is to encourage open activism with minimal control while maintaining functionality.

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Marriage Equality Kentucky empowers and trains local supporters throughout the commonwealth to get engaged and step up into leadership roles in their communities in support of the marriage equality movement. One of our organizational goals is to encourage open activism with minimal control while maintaining functionality.